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| Mehdi Neimi |
The ecological disaster in Lake Urmia in Iranian Azerbaijan is becoming an increasing source of concern. Independent experts and even some experts working within Iranian state institutions seem to agree that inefficient water management and the denial of water rights to the lake have led to an irreversible situation.
Economist and political activist Mehdi Neimi, in an interview with Voice of America, emphasizes that, in addition to the inefficient management of water resources, economic discrimination plays a role in the drying of Lake Urmia.
In recent years, various government officials and even members of parliament in Iran have given contradictory statements regarding the budget allocated by the state for the revival of Lake Urmia. Some local politicians and members of parliament in Iranian Azerbaijan claim that it is unclear how the announced budget for Lake Urmia has been spent.
Neimi points out that, “when we demand action, the Iranian government claims that the state budget is limited and insufficient to prevent such a disaster. But we see that there are surplus budgets for water transport projects in other regions, from southern Iran to the center.”
He draws attention to large state projects being carried out to lay water pipelines from the Iranian and Omanian Gulf regions to central provinces such as Isfahan, Yazd, and Kerman.
“From the Persian Gulf to Isfahan, Yazd, Rafsanjan, Kerman, and Mashhad, 3,700 km of pipelines have either been laid or are under construction. And this is still a project involving purified and drinkable water. So it’s not just a pipeline; there are other costs involved. This means they can allocate the budget and cover expenses wherever they want. However, when it comes to Lake Urmia, we don’t see this happening. On top of this, we also see that aid from other countries meant for the revival of Lake Urmia is being spent elsewhere,” Neimi said in the interview with Voice of America.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Mehdi Nəimi: İran mərkəz vilayətlərə 3700 km su borusu çəkir, ancaq Urmiyə gölünə gələndə deyirlər büdcə yoxdur